Regulations and Impediments for Treatment 

and Beneficial Use of CBM Produced Water 

John A. Veil

Presented at  

16th Interna.onal Petroleum and Biofuels Environmental Conference 

Houston, TX 

November 3‐5, 2009

a component of 

An Integrated Framework for Treatment and Management of 

Produced Water 
2 

Topics for Discussion 

 Regulatory requirements affec4ng produced 

water management 

 Regulatory requirements affec4ng beneficial 

reuse 

 Impediments/issues 
Scope of Project 

 The RPSEA project coordinated by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is 

focused on beneficial reuse of water from coalbed methane (CBM) 

produc4on in the Rockies 

 The studied region includes por4ons of: 

– Colorado 

– Montana 

– New Mexico 

– Utah 

– Wyoming 

 This presenta4on describes the regulatory     

requirements that govern produced     

water management and reuse. 

3 
Options for Managing CBM Water 

 Discharge to surface water 

 Inject underground for disposal 

 Evaporate 

 Haul/pipe for offsite disposal 

 Beneficial reuse 

– Agriculture 

– Industrial use 

– Domes4c use 

– Other 

 Some of these ac4vi4es are subject to state and federal regula4ons 

4 
Overview of Regulatory Requirements Relating to 

Surface Discharge 

 Na4onal Pollutant Discharge Elimina4on 

System (NPDES) permits are required for 

discharges to surface waters 

 Issued by state agencies 

 Contain numerical limits on selected pollutants 

 May require best management prac4ces or 

other opera4onal controls 

 Limits are based on technical feasibility of 

treatment and protec4on of water quality 

 There are currently no na4onal discharge 

standards for CBM water 

– EPA is studying the CBM sector and will decide 

next year if na4onal effluent limita4ons 

guidelines are needed 

– In the mean 4me, states can establish limits 

using best professional judgment 

5 
Overview of Regulatory Requirements Relating to 

Underground Injection 

 If CBM water is injected, it must be 

authorized by an Underground Injec4on 

Control (UIC) permit issued by the state or 

an EPA Region. 

 Class II wells are used for injec4ng 

produced water 

 If water is treated and injected into a 

shallow aquifer for reuse, a Class V well 

permit is required 

 Given the process used to produce CBM 

(extract water from the coal seam to 

reduce hydrosta4c pressure), injec4on of 

water back to the coal seam (comparable 

to enhanced recovery) is not prac4cal 

6 
Requirements for Other Water Management Options 

 Some water management op4ons are generally 

approved without specific regulatory requirements 

– Evapora4on 

– Irriga4on 

– Industrial use 

 Water managed by those op4ons typically must 

meet certain process quality requirements that 

ensure good opera4ons rather than mee4ng 

regulatory requirements 

 Example   

– Use as cooling tower makeup water would not 

require any permits 

– Owner of cooling tower would need to make sure 

the water was clean enough to meet the process 

specifica4ons 

7 
How Can Users Obtain Regulatory Information? 

 The project team is building a RPSEA project 

website that will provide links to each of the 

states. 

– Should be available some 4me in 2010 

 Regulatory informa4on format will be similar to 

the Regulatory Module on Argonne’s Produced 

Water Management Informa4on System 

(PWMIS) – see next page for example 

– Iden4fy responsible agencies 

– Provide contact informa4on 

– Give bulleted outline of state regulatory 

requirements, permiced ac4vi4es, and prohibited 

ac4vi4es 

•  contain hot links to the actual text of the 

regula4ons and to applica4ons, forms , etc. 

 Users can contact state agencies directly for 

clarifica4on 

8 
Sample Content for Regulatory Information (1 of 3) 

9 
Sample Content for Regulatory Information (2 of 3) 

10 
Sample Content for Regulatory Information (3 of 3) 

 Add a new sec4on (not currently part of PWMIS) that describes State 

regula4ons, laws, and policies regarding beneficial use of produced water 

11 
Impediments to Beneficial Reuse of CBM Water 

 Feasibility Issues 

– Availability of water in sufficient quan4ty and quality for a long enough period 

of 4me to jus4fy an investment 

• Need to account for historical swing in natural gas prices and the effect that has on 

produc4on 

– Cost of reuse compared to disposal 

• How clean must water be before the reuse? 

 Legal Concerns 

– Gas producers have a fear of liability from an end user of the water 

– Water rights laws are state‐specific and can be very complicated 

– Regulatory requirements may be a moving target 

12 
13 

Conclusions 

 CBM produc4on generates a lot of water 

 The Rocky Mountain states have a need for 

addi4onal water resources 

 Beneficial reuse of the water is a desirable goal 

 Gas producers must follow exis4ng water 

management regula4ons and may be subject to 

addi4onal requirements in the future 

 There are some feasibility and legal barriers that 

impede beneficial reuse of the water 

 This project hopes to make progress in mi4ga4ng 

those barriers 
Contact

John Veil 

Manager – Water Policy Program 

Argonne Na4onal Laboratory 

202‐488‐2450 

jveil@anl.gov

An Integrated Framework for Treatment and Management of 

Produced Water